1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an organic light emitting display, and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an organic light emitting display including spacers, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting display is a self-emission type display that electrically excites phosphorous organic compounds to generate light. An organic light emitting display can be driven with a low voltage, can be made small and slim, can have a wide viewing angle, and can have a high response speed. Therefore, organic light emitting displays are spotlighted as next generation displays, and in particular, displays for mobile applications.
Organic thin layers, of the organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) that constitute the pixels of an organic light emitting display, are formed of organic materials. The organic materials can be damaged, if contacted by oxygen and/or moisture, which can result in a reduction of the lifespan of an organic light emitting display. Therefore, methods of encapsulating OLEDs, to prevent the exposure of the OLEDs to oxygen and moisture, are used. However, the conventional encapsulating methods cannot sufficiently prevent such an exposure from occurring.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional organic light emitting display 100. Referring to FIG. 1, the organic light emitting display 100 includes a substrate 110 including thin film transistors (TFTs) 120, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and an encapsulating unit 170 that encapsulates the OLEDs. The OLEDs include: first electrodes 130 that are electrically connected to the TFTs 120; a pixel defining layer 140 formed around the first electrodes 130; organic thin layers 150 formed on the first electrodes 130; and second electrodes 160 formed on the organic thin layers 150.
A plurality of the TFTs 120 are formed on the surface of the substrate 110. The OLEDs are electrically connected to the TFTs 120, and are formed on the TFTs 120. When a predetermined voltage is applied to the first electrodes 130 and the second electrodes 160, holes from the first electrodes 130, and electrons from the second electrodes 160, move to the organic thin layers 150 to generate excitons. As the excitons are grounded from an excited state to a ground state, the phosphorous molecules of the organic thin layers 150 emit light to realize an image.
The encapsulating unit 170 is formed of glass or metal, in order to prevent moisture and/or oxygen from permeating into the OLEDs. A sealing material 190 is applied on the edge of the encapsulating unit 170, to attach the substrate 110 to the encapsulating unit 170. However, moisture and oxygen may be present between the substrate 100 and the encapsulating unit 170, so the OLEDs may still be damaged.
In addition, when pressure is applied from the outside to the encapsulating unit 170, the encapsulating unit 170 may be damaged, or may be curved toward the substrate 110 where the OLEDs are formed, thereby damaging the OLEDs. That is, the encapsulating unit 170 is bent toward the substrate 110, so as to contact the second electrodes 160 formed on the organic thin layers 150, or pressure is applied to the second electrodes 160, so that the organic thin layers 150 are damaged.